Yes, sir. Given the mind set, at the time, the Atomic bomb was simply a weapon. It is only with benefit of our contemporary hindsight that we now understand the true implications of using this as a weapon.ORIGINAL: sfbaytf
This is why I don't buy into the modern day questioning of dropping the atomic bombs. In the modern context it sounds unreasonable, but in the context of the norms and situation of WW2 it makes sense.
Had we invaded and suffered the losses we would have and it was later discovered we has it and didn't use it, I think the public uproar would have been defeaning.
I understand that Oppenheimer and others saw Chesterton's Shiva, the Devourer of Worlds; and I would likely have been there too. But there is a disconnect between expressions of cultural philosophy and cultural survival imperitives.
The whole world, at the time, was a bubbling pot of political change: there were monarchists, there were oligarchs, there were democrats, and of the democrats there were socialists and capitalists and national socialists, and frikkin bears, oh my. The hearts and minds of the Euro (and Japanese) masses were not far away from conformance to a monarchical establishment, so a national socialist structure wouldn't be all that different. So what the hell to do to make your way in the turmoil of the early 20th century? Lots of people starving, hoping, thinking, remembering, believing, wanting, and caring. Woof !!
So that's kind of the environment, but I'm probably internalising less than 10% of what really was. So there once was a world that our generation has absolutely no clue about. I doubt there's a thousand people in the whole country who know that Chesterton isn't a cigarette.
Life is perception; and it's the perception of them that we give the 'scale' to.
[edit] sorry didn't see Joe's post. Please ignore everything. Joe, should I delete this post?
